Chapter 25:

8:00 PM

Ring.

A humming in the right pocket of my shorts. As I stood up from my bed and dug through my shorts pocket, I glanced towards the window.

"Natsuki-san," I said after flipping my phone open. "What's wrong?"

"'Meet me in the woods outside Chitanda-san's home."

"Why's that-?"

My window shattered. A bulky man fired a dart into my neck.

I was out cold.

8:15 PM

It all came back to me. Before this happened, it had been a normal evening; Tomoe chided me about missing my chores, I'd given myself more of the serum at 7:00, then I headed up here. Taking the stuff always left me exhausted, so I decided to take a nap.

That's when she called . . . And now . . .

"Hotaru Oreki,"

A middle-aged voice I recognized all too well stepped from behind an nearby oak tree. The smell of fresh spring leaves, dew, and sweat assaulted my senses simultaneously. I pinched my nose with my hand.

"What did you put into me?"

"A dart that's tip was filled with a non-fatal neurotoxin," he shrugged casually at the two broad-chested bodyguards nearby. "Not enough to do any damage, but let's just say you weren't waking up before the 15 minute mark."

"Do you plan to kill me?"

"No," he shook his head, genuine shock on his face. "Even I wouldn't resort to murder to keep my career."

"Alright," I snarl quietly. "Then, what do you want?"

"For years, my research team has been working to show how radiation can be used for several different purposes if harnessed correctly. The experiment we showed at your school was designed to illustrate how much we could control at a time."

"It worked as intended," I agreed, "were it not for that spider."

"As you know, I wasn't aware of this development until you approached me." He nodded thoughtfully. "When I realized you did have it, I planned to use Kimiko-chan to find and bring you to me."

"Proof to your organization that you succeeded?"

"Absolutely," he smiled at his daughter, her legs shaking. "As soon as we convince your friends to keep quiet about this, I will have the means to prove to those worthless bastards what I'm really worth."

Stay calm, Oreki. Don't let his reckless attitude intimidate you. Think . . . Think! "If you wanted to prove I existed, why not just reveal me to the public?"

"I might've done that if I knew about your existence sooner," he straightened his posture. "But I know you wouldn't let me take you off them, even if I worked to find a way to cure the radiation's negative effects on your body permanently. So, instead, I have to force you."

"What if I kill myself?" I asked. "That would put your plans in a bit of a bind."

"It would," he grimaced, "except I know how much your friends mean to you. After what happened yesterday, you wouldn't kill yourself. It'd hurt them too much,"

Damn it, this guy's a psycho. It's taking all my strength to keep myself under control. Think . . . how can you appease this guy? Think . . .

"Wait,"

"What?"

He turned suddenly. It was then I noticed the look in his eyes; how scared and desperate they were. I stared at Kimiko for a moment and saw a similar glint in hers.

Neither of them really thought this through . . . This plan was doomed from the beginning.

"You're acting out of emotion, not logic."

"Don't be silly," he threw his head back and laughed. "I have all the cards here; if they don't agree with my request, I will have them killed."

"That's the problem," I smirked grimly. "What about the police?"

Hirada's eyes went wide. Perturbed, he took several steps back and tripped over a tree branch. He tightened both of his fists. "I-I can evade them; I have to."

"No, you can't," I said plainly. "They'll surround this entire forest; once the know I'm involved, they'll take every precaution."

"No," he clenched the sides of his head in his hands. "No, they can't. They won't!"

"Yes, they will," I snapped. "When they realize who you are, they may well kill you on sight."

"It has to work!" He screeched at me. "I WILL get it all back! Everyone will love me, and no one will call me a loser again!"

He snapped the branch he'd tripped on and stormed towards me.

"I won't let you stop me,"

Kimiko's face showed a resolve it hadn't before. Her shock changed to determination.

She may be my only hope .

"I'll stab this stick straight through your neck!"

He sprinted towards my position. As he aimed for my neck, his daughter jumped on top of him.

"Stop it! Stop it, Daddy, stop it!"

"Let me go," he barked, frantically trying to shake her off. "He hates me, too! Don't you see, I have to make you happy!"

"I didn't love you because of your job," she shrieked, tightening her fingernails' hold on his back. "I loved you because you loved me first!"

Realization sprouted on the man's face. After a minute, his expression changed from one of senseless anger to one of hopelessness. Falling down on his knees, he threw his face into the moist ground beneath him. Above him, Kimiko gave him a warm embrace.

"I won't press charges," I said as he wept. "They'll go easy on you."

"It's over," he whispered to no one. "My life is ruined; I can't do it again, I can't . . . "

"Dad . . ." Kimiko rested her cheeks against his. "We can start over; I don't care what job you get, or how much you get paid as long as you're there. You're the one I care about, Dad . . . Not your success . . ."

He watched his daughter bear her heart silently for a minute or so. Finally, he wrapped his thick hands around her and buried his face into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kimiko-chan. Please forgive me,"

"Please . . ."